1. Field of the Invention
The present invention provides a method and apparatus for binding a plurality of sheets together using a hot-melt adhesive, the adhesive being formed on a continuous roll of binding material. The sheet includes a resistive strip along the tail end of the roll for identifying the physical characteristics of the roll. The resistive strip is also used to indicate to the apparatus when the roll is consumed and needs to be replaced.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Techniques for binding sheets of material, such as paper, in a manner to form books have been widely available in the prior art. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,829,938 and 6,056,493 to Hartwig et al (the inventor of the present invention is a co-inventor on both the ""938 and ""493 patents) disclose a specific book binding apparatus using a L-shaped tape. Although the ""938 and ""493 patents disclose a useful book binding apparatus, the apparatus is relatively expensive to fabricate due to the number of mechanical components required. In addition, separate L-shaped binding tapes are utilized to bind sheets together.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,898,506 to Lxc3xa1zxc3xa1r discloses a bonding system for securing a hot-melt strip material to an overlying sheet material and a grooving system for grooving the sheet material adjacent the opposite side edges of the strip material after it has been secured to the sheet. This patent is directed to a method and apparatus for producing the binding strips themselves, not a method for applying binding strips to sheets of paper. In addition, the above noted prior art patents do not disclose a technique wherein the binding material itself indicates to the processing apparatus, the physical characteristics thereof or, in the case of the Lxc3xa1zxc3xa1r patent, an indication when the roll is at the tail end.
What is thus desired is to provide an improved method and apparatus for binding together a plurality of sheets and wherein the binding material roll includes means for indicating to the binding apparatus the physical characteristics of the material and when a replacement roll is required.
The present invention provides a method and apparatus for binding together a plurality of paper sheets. The binding process comprises providing a roll of book binding material coated on one side with hot-melt adhesive, orienting and securing sheets of paper, rear cover and spine that will comprise the book to be bound relative to the binding material, securing the leading edge of the binding material to the front of the book to be bound, severing the secured portion from the remaining binding material, wrapping the binding severed strip around the spine and rear cover and heating the adhesive to produce a permanent bond with the edges of the spine and covers. The binding material includes a strip of resistive material formed near the tail end of the roll to identify its physical characteristics to the microprocessor utilized in the apparatus. In addition to providing identification of the physical characteristics (this information is always available whenever the machine is turned on regardless of the amount of material consumed previously), the resistive strip applied to the binding material is physically wrapped around the core of the roll in such a way that when the material on the roll is consumed, the resistive strip becomes disconnected from the conductive edges of the core thus indicating to the microprocessor that the roll should be replaced to prevent partial or incomplete binding of the last document.
The present invention thus provides an improved book binding apparatus that is more automated and faster than prior art book binding machines.